Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Your Majesty, have you come because of the Saint Prince's God-Demon Body?"

After welcoming Human Emperor Xuanyuan into the Secret Realm, Elder Long did not immediately take him to the Rising Dragon Tower, but instead led him into a nearby hall and posed his question.

"God-Demon Body? Yang Xiao has a Divine-Demon Body?"

Human Emperor Xuanyuan was instantly astonished.

"You did not know, Your Majesty?"

Now it was Elder Long's turn to be confused.

'He had assumed that since His Majesty the Human Emperor had come for Yang Xiao, it must be about the Divine-Demon Body. The Divine-Demon Body had its benefits, but it also had its drawbacks. If not handled with care, it could lead to a terrible disaster.'

'But from the looks of it, Human Emperor Xuanyuan actually didn't know?'

'What in the world was going on?'

"I didn't know before, but now that you mention it, I think I understand."

Human Emperor Xuanyuan smiled slightly.

In terms of worldly knowledge, he was likely inferior to Elder Long, especially regarding the Ancient Divine Demons. However, he was still aware of the God-Demon Body and some of the characteristics of the Divine-Demon Body.

He immediately understood.

'Yang Xiao's greatest crisis right now didn't come from the Dark Night Demon God, but from within himself.'

At the same time, he also finally understood.

He also finally understood why so many old legends only mentioned that Secret Patterns and Demon Patterns could both generate and restrain one another, and that if they were fused, something miraculous would happen.

For some, it led to disaster; for others, it brought boundless fortune.

It seemed very complicated.

Only now did he realize that the fusion of Demon Patterns and Secret Patterns resulted in the state of God-Demon Body—a simplified version of the Divine-Demon Body. Realizing this,

he wasn't as worried anymore.

As long as no expert from the Dark Night Demon God Clan was secretly targeting him, he felt that Yang Xiao wasn't in immense danger.

But on second thought,

his expression darkened once more.

'I originally came here in my true body to track down that Dark Night Demon God. But now it turns out this was caused by the Divine-Demon Body. Doesn't that make my trip here pointless?'

Human Emperor Xuanyuan frowned.

Just then, Elder Long spoke up. "The Saint Prince now possesses the Divine-Demon Body, which will surely cause no small amount of trouble in the future. Your Majesty, since you have come, do you have a solution?"

"Trouble? Ah, yes. As for a solution... I was hoping Elder Long might have some wisdom to share."

At first, Human Emperor Xuanyuan felt his trip here had been pointless.

But Elder Long's reminder was a wake-up call. Yang Xiao was now in a state of God-Demon Body, which had been powerful enough to influence his own Clone. And just moments ago, it seemed to have influenced a Tier Eight Divine Venerable as well.

This was indeed a serious problem.

He immediately began to ask Elder Long for guidance.

Although he was the Human Emperor and held a revered status, Elder Long was a top-tier Divine King and a member of the Ancient Dragon Clan. Therefore, addressing him respectfully as 'Elder Long' was not out of place.

After all, he was asking for a favor.

When Elder Long heard Human Emperor Xuanyuan personally ask for his guidance for Yang Xiao's sake,

he instantly understood. 'Yang Xiao must be extremely important to the current Human Emperor,' he thought. 'Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed here in his true body.'

So, without holding anything back, he began to explain everything he knew about the Divine-Demon Body.

"The influence of the Divine-Demon Body is likely related to one's cultivation and strength. Therefore, Your Majesty, if you have a way to conceal the Saint Prince's aura of power, it would greatly diminish the body's effects. As it stands, the Saint Prince's strength is probably comparable to a Tier Four True God. Because of this, even a Divine King Level expert could be ensnared if they're not careful. On further reflection, it should be able to affect an opponent up to five tiers stronger than him."

"Five tiers?"

Human Emperor Xuanyuan's expression shifted.

'Even though Yang Xiao was capable of Breaking Nine Prohibitions, from the sound of it, the influence of the Divine-Demon Body was based entirely on combat strength.'

Five tiers.

That was a difference of ten thousand times.

'No matter how powerful Yang Xiao was, he'd find it impossible to withstand a single blow from such an opponent.'

'It seems I really must teach him a Technique for concealing his aura and combat strength.'

Human Emperor Xuanyuan sighed inwardly.

This was no small matter indeed.

"There is one other method: extracting the Demon Pattern," Elder Long continued. "However, this approach is not ideal. While the Divine-Demon Body has its downsides, it also has benefits—it is especially complementary to the Dao of the Human Emperor."

Hearing these words, Human Emperor Xuanyuan nodded.

He became lost in thought.

He pondered how to suppress Yang Xiao's Divine-Demon Body.

And as he thought, a few ideas came to him.

He immediately said, "Where is that troublemaker, Yang Xiao, right now?"

"Well..."

After a moment's hesitation, Elder Long revealed that Yang Xiao was still inside the Rising Dragon Tower.

This made Human Emperor Xuanyuan even happier.

He had long known that Yang Xiao's body contained numerous Secret Patterns and that the path of the Void Sword Manual was one of a single Dao fusing with the Ten Thousand Dao.

Comprehending even one more Secret Pattern would be a great boon.

This was especially true for a supreme pattern like the Greater Yang Secret Pattern, which was easily worth ten or even dozens of ordinary Secret Patterns.

Human Emperor Xuanyuan was naturally happy.

However, this path of relying on his own comprehension was ultimately a bit too slow.

'Looks like I'll have to find time to teach that boy the Dual Cultivation Secret Technique. It's the best way to gather more of the Great Dao and Secret Patterns. Back in the day, didn't I just... wait. He has so many Secret Patterns in his body. If he could use them to suppress the Demon Pattern, wouldn't that weaken the effect of his Divine-Demon Body? What's more, his current overwhelming strength is likely due to the Power of the Emperor. If I were to teach him the True Body Technique of the Emperor and extract that power, his strength would probably fall below the True God realm, wouldn't it? He might even drop to the Demigod Realm. In that case, an enemy five tiers higher would no longer be much of a threat.'

With this thought,

Human Emperor Xuanyuan immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

And just as he and Elder Long were racking their brains for a way to mitigate the effects of the Divine-Demon Body,

Yang Xiao, at this moment, had already reached the last layer of the Rising Dragon Tower.

He could see the final layer of the Greater Yang Secret Pattern.

'The Greater Yang Secret Pattern is truly extraordinary. The difficulty of this Ninth Layer is hardly any less than the Time Secret Pattern's. It looks like I'll have to consume another Desolate Divine Fruit.'

At that thought, Yang Xiao began to focus his mind,

silently committing the mysteries of these Secret Patterns to memory.

It took him a full three days before he had barely memorized the Ninth Layer of the Greater Yang Secret Pattern.

Then, he consumed the Desolate Divine Fruit.

He closed his eyes.

But soon, he opened them again.

He consumed another Desolate Divine Fruit.

When he opened them again, his eyes seemed to blaze with an incandescent Supreme Yang Flame.

The Heart of the Greater Yang was formed!

Following that,

a deafening ROAR echoed.

Inside Yang Xiao's body,

another Divine Pill appeared.

The moment this Divine Pill appeared, the True Greater Yang Fire, which had been separate from his other Divine Pills, instantly shattered. It split into four and transformed into four distinct True Flames: the Greater Yang, the Fiery Yang, the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire, and the Star.

The True Greater Yang Fire merged into the newly formed Greater Yang Divine Pill.

The Fiery Yang True Flame merged into the Fiery Yang Divine Pill. The True Flame condensed from the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire likewise merged into the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire Element Divine Pill.

Only the Star True Flame was left.

Seeing this Star True Flame,

Yang Xiao smiled. 'Next, I should head to the Star God Continent and obtain the last five layers of the Star Secret Pattern.'

With a thought, Yang Xiao entered the Light Gate of the Rising Dragon Tower's Ninth Layer.

Before long, having passed the trial and obtained nine Greater Yang King Fruits, Yang Xiao emerged from the Rising Dragon Tower.

The moment he appeared,

Elder Long and Human Emperor Xuanyuan sensed it instantly.

Two figures appeared before Yang Xiao in a flash.